Seven to nine-year olds are what most people consider “the golden age.”

They are proficient in their vocabulary and problem-solving skills, yet they are not at the age where they want complete independence from adults. This makes the teacher-student relationship stronger than ever.

The problem we discovered is they still lack core skills, and although they are highly intelligent, they struggle to keep up with students ages 10 and up. The solution we found is to provide them with their own program that targets their stage of development in a manner that adapts to their adventurous attitude and youthful nature while at the same time building skills that set them up for success. With that said a structured program introducing core skill-based training in Martial Arts has proven to be very successful.

By understanding the stages of development of 7 to 9-year olds, we were able to select 8 age-appropriate skills that make up the Core SKILLZ Program:

1. AGILITY:Switching feet and kicking the pad with their front leg. They must be able to switch feet and kick a pad with their front leg ten times in a row, without making a mistake or looking sloppy, in order to pass.

2. TECHNIQUE:Demonstrating the three stage 1 block’s and three stage 1 strikes from memory. They must show the proper chambers and ending position for all of the moves in order to pass.

3. COURAGE: Dodging targets that are thrown at them from five steps away. They must be able to dodge five targets in a row in order to pass.

4. FLEXIBILITY: Holding middle splits. They must be able to hold the middle splits for 30 seconds without falling in order to pass.

5. INTENSITY: Palm strike board break. They must break a board with a palm strike in three shots or less in order to pass.

6. PERSEVERANCE: Holding each static leg, arm, abdominal and core exercise. They must not lose technique or else they have to start over. They must hold each exercise for no less than ten seconds in order to pass.

7. SPEED: Demonstrating the 8-move kickboxing combination. They must perform the kickboxing combination with proper technique three times in a row in fifteen seconds or less in order to pass.

8. CONCENTRATION: Performing combinations 1 - 5 of the stage 1 form. They must perform each move with proper chambers and execution in order to pass.

We cover one of the above skills per class (in order.) During each class we run a warm-up; deliver a mat chat about the skill; run two or three skill-building drills; and then we have them demonstrate the skill to earn their skill-stripe. They must earn all skill-stripes in order to graduate to the next belt level. Once they earn their next belt they will continue to run through all 8 skills earning their skill-stripes with more challenging curriculum as they advance to each rank. They graduate to the Extreme SKILLZ program after they have successfully completed all belt ranks of the Core SKILLZ program.

As you can see we take Martial Arts training to a whole new level! We use core elements of traditional Martial Arts curriculums to build skills that are appropriate for 7 to 9-year olds. This means that your child will learn and grow at a pace that is not too easy, nor too challenging. The best part is the Core SKILLZ program will equip your child with skills that they will utilize in every area of their life!